Why Traceability Is An Essential Part Of The Food Industry

By Melissa Lind, contributing writer

The food-supply chain has changed immensely from the days of raising food for your family’s dinner table. As the world has grown and sourcing has become more global, the supply chain has become much longer and increasingly complex. We can no longer directly question the harvester or even the intermediary vendor of our food and must rely on more advanced methods of traceability.

“Then” Practices
Before globalization of the supply chain, you could go to the local market to purchase corn and ask the grocer, “Where did this corn come from?” A likely response would have been, “It came from Mr. Glandorff’s farm just yesterday when he delivered a load of corn, tomatoes, and melons.” If required, the grocer could then produce the handwritten receipt. When shopping for jam, asking the same grocer, “Who made this?” may have had an answer similar to, “Well, my wife made this plum jam after our trees had fruited last summer, it’s mighty tart.” The same type of transaction could be expected for the bacon which came from the local pig packer, the beef which came from the beef packer in the next town, and the bread which came from Schadel’s baked goods in the city.

At that time, a contamination event required only a short ride to the store itself or even a simple phone call to remove items from the shelf. Nowadays, consumers don’t shop that close to the food source. The food-supply chain is now much longer and infinitely more complex, but we still need to be able to trace food products from harvest to table.

“Now” Practices
Food safety regulations, such as the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), have made this a regulatory imperative. Today’s consumers are also more demanding, wanting to know about where, when, and how food arrived at their table. Consumers even want to know information about sustainability and environmental practices used in harvest of the initial ingredients.

Because of the increase of complexity in the food-supply chain, developing regulations, global sourcing, and consumer demand, traceability methods have gone high-tech. Common practices within the industry include automated labelling, RFID chips, and comprehensive computer programs to manage the process. Actual requirements depend on the type of product and the countries involved in harvest, manufacturing, and transport. Requirements of each country, and even region, may vary widely.

Ideally, to ensure maximum safety of the food-supply chain, full visibility and comprehensive traceability must be enacted from top to bottom and no matter what the food type or locale. The three main objectives for a high-quality traceability system include:

• Effective Management — this can be accomplished by determining the most-efficient way to source and produce products. Documentation of the product’s passage through the cycle of production is the main factor in understanding how they were made and what the cost shall be.
• Support Marketing Claims — today’s consumers often interpret advertising and labelling claims, such as “certified organic,” as a representation of quality. Traceability offers the documentation and proof to back up those claims.
• Quality Assurance Information — the necessary documents are a necessity for food-safety investigators who require documentation of tracking. This information is also essential when a food-safety event occurs and requires a recall.

Government regulations provide a backbone of guidelines and methods used in traceability processes. However, ultimately the customer may be more discerning with higher expectations. Knowing your company’s product and ultimately its customer can help determine how far your company will need to go beyond regulatory requirements to maintain and increase customer loyalty.